Wrexham Nearly Did It Again vs. Chelsea

Wrexham led Chelsea twice at STōK Cae Ras — including in the 78th minute — before losing 4-2 in extra time. A VAR offside and a controversial red card may have cost them the upset of the round.

Chelsea

uristocrat

March 7, 2026 2 min read

If you weren't watching the FA Cup fifth round at STōK Cae Ras today, you missed the kind of match that reminds you why this competition exists.

Chelsea — reigning club world champions, Premier League side, nine changes deep because they have a Champions League trip to PSG on Wednesday — came to Wrexham and nearly got sent home. Final score: Wrexham 2, Chelsea 4. But the scoreline doesn't begin to tell the story.

Wrexham took the lead through Sam Smith in the 18th minute. Chelsea equalized via a fortuitous Arthur Okonkwo own goal. Then Wrexham took the lead again in the 78th through Callum Doyle — an improvised finish that sent the STōK Cae Ras into absolute bedlam with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney watching from the stands. For a Championship side playing in the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in 29 years, against a depleted but still formidable top-flight club, this was the kind of moment the fairy tale is made of.

Then Chelsea leveled again through Josh Acheampong in the 82nd. Extra time. And in extra time, the quality gap finally — barely — showed itself. Alejandro Garnacho put Chelsea ahead in the 96th minute. Wrexham thought they'd equalized through Lewis Brunt, only for VAR to rule it narrowly offside. João Pedro sealed it in the 120th+5 to make it 4-2.

Wrexham manager Liam Rosenior called Chelsea "lucky." That's not sour grapes — it's an accurate reading of the match. Two VAR decisions went against the Welsh side, including George Dobson's yellow card being upgraded to a red after a foul on Garnacho, a call that changed the complexion of extra time entirely. The home side felt robbed, and it's hard to argue with them.

But here's the bigger story: Wrexham had already knocked out Premier League Nottingham Forest earlier in this FA Cup run. They're currently sixth in the Championship, chasing what would be an unprecedented fourth consecutive promotion — a run that would take them from the fifth tier of English football to the top flight in four seasons. Reynolds and McElhenney's Hollywood project has become something genuinely historic, and today added another chapter even in defeat.

Chelsea advance to the quarterfinals. Wrexham go back to the Championship table and their playoff push, carrying the memory of how close they came to doing something no one thought possible.